Variety selection is an important management decision in crop production. As northern Illinois wheat producers make plans for seeding winter wheat in September, current variety information is available at Extension offices and on the World Wide Web.

The 2007 yield, test weight, and height from public and private wheat varieties grown at University of Illinois Agronomy Research Centers across the state are available at this website http://vt.cropsci.uiuc.edu/wheat.html Also included is the two-year (2006-07) and three-year (2005-07) yield average. Data is available back to 1997.

This year, the winter wheat varieties at the DeKalb site, averaged 69 bushels per acre (down 23 bushels from 2006). Range of yields was 44.6 to 86.7 bushels per acre. The average test weight was 61.6 pounds per bushel (up 2 pounds from 2006).

In addition to yield, agronomic characteristics and pest resistance are listed. For instance, varieties are listed regarding type (variety, blend, or hybrid), head type (bearded, not bearded), and scored for maturity, winter hardiness, plant height, standability, and resistance to various diseases (leaf rust and Septoria) and to the Hessian fly. The web site also provides Fusarium Head Scab disease evaluation ratings for the varieties in the wheat trials.

Soil type and cultural practices, such as seeding date and rate, nitrogen fertilizer, etc., used at each of the Agronomy Research Centers are shown.

A study of seed insecticide treatment was conducted using four varieties with and without Gaucho seed treatment. The average change at DeKalb for the four varieties with the Gaucho seed treatment compared to the same varieties without Gaucho was a 3.4 bushel per acre decrease.

Wheat Performance in Illinois Trials-2007 is the name of a publication available soon at Extension offices that contains the information mentioned above. This publication is also available at the above-mentioned web site.